close
close

What is the Badlapur sexual assault case? What is the dispute over the accused's death in an encounter? – Firstpost

Akshay Shinde, the man accused last month of sexually abusing two four-year-old girls in Badlapur, Maharashtra, was killed in a retaliatory firing on Monday (September 23).

The incident, in which a police officer was also injured, sparked a massive dispute between the state government and the opposition.

While the government speaks of an act of “self-defense,” the opposition spoke of a “fake encounter” and called for an investigation.

Let's take a closer look.

The incident

The dramatic incident took place at around 6.30 pm near Mumbra Bypass while 23-year-old Akshay was being brought to Badlapur from Taloja jail to investigate a new case filed by his ex-wife.

Five days after the wedding, the woman left him and accused him of abuse and rape, so NDTV.

According to a News18 Marathi According to reports, Shinde snatched Assistant Police Inspector Nilesh More's service weapon while he was driving and fired three shots.

It said two of the shots missed their target and one hit More's leg.

Another officer retaliated by shooting Shinde, seriously wounding him.

Akshay and More were both taken to a hospital.

The defendant succumbed to his injuries there, ANIciting police sources in Thane.

His body was taken to JJ Hospital for autopsy.

“They killed him”

Akshay's family claims that the police and the school administration of Badlapur, where the accused worked as a cleaner, had plotted a conspiracy.

Anna Shinde, his father, has demanded an investigation into his son's murder.

The mother said: “The police killed our child. The school administration must also be investigated. The police made him write something, but we don't know what it is,” his mother said. “My son was afraid to set off firecrackers and cross the road. How can he shoot at policemen?”

“I met him yesterday. He was fine at the time. He asked me when he would be released and I said in a month. He told me to send money for food and gave me a number to send it to. He had a piece of paper in his hand and told me to look at what was written on it. An hour later they made an arrest on him,” the mother claimed.

“He had gone to work at the school. I don't know what happened there. He couldn't even drive a car. How could he shoot with such a big gun? Those who killed my child should also be punished. We want justice,” she added.

The political dispute

The retaliatory firing incident has sparked a controversy between the ruling Mahayuti government and the opposition ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections later this year.

The opposition called it a “fake encounter” and called for a judicial investigation.

Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar said, “Didn't the police tie Akshay Shinde's hands while he was driving? How could he reach for the gun and why was the police so careless?” He added that no action was taken against the “BJP-affiliated” school management, but an arrested accused was shot dead under suspicious circumstances. “We have no faith in the Badlapur police,” he added, demanding a judicial inquiry.

Veteran politician Sharad Pawar, who leads his faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, wrote on X: “The negligence of the Home Ministry in handing over the main accused in this case is questionable. It seems that the government has become weak.”

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole demanded a judicial inquiry and asked if there was an attempt to save the absconding accused by killing the main accused in the encounter. Former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh also termed the encounter as a “fake encounter”.

Supriya Sule, Lok Sabha MP from Baramati, said on X: “The Mahayuti government's actions in the Badlapur sexual assault case of two minor girls are shocking! First the delay in filing the FIR and now the main accused is killed in custody! This is a complete breakdown of the legal and judicial system. This is inexcusable, it is depriving the people of Maharashtra of justice.”

In a post on X, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said the accused deserved to be hanged but the incident was reckless and suspicious.

Sushma Andhare, spokesperson of the Shiv Sena (UBT), compared the incident to the shooting deaths of four rape suspects in Telangana in 2019.

“There too, the police claimed it was done in self-defence. But because of the deaths, the truth never came out. The same will be true of the Badlapur sexual assault. Was Akshay Shinde killed because he was hiding something more sinister? Why is the school management still on the run?” she asked.

An act of “self-defense”

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis said the police shot Akshay in self-defence.

CM Shinde sharply attacked the opposition and said, “Earlier, the opposition parties were demanding that Akshay Shinde be hanged. Now they are siding with him and questioning the integrity of the Maharashtra Police. Such action by the opposition leaders is reprehensible and unfortunate.”

He stated that the police had taken him to Badlapur to investigate the allegations made by his ex-wife.

“The opposition asks questions on every issue. They wanted him hanged. It is wrong to say such a thing when the police were trying to save lives,” the deputy prime minister reiterated.

Investigation of the incident

Thane Police Commissioner Ashutosh Dumbre has set up an eight-member inquiry committee to investigate the incident.

The panel, comprising two deputy commissioners of police, two assistant commissioners of police and two inspectors of police, is headed by Additional Commissioner of Police Punjabrao Ugle.

Sexual assault in Badlapur

Two kindergarten children in Badlapur were sexually abused in a school toilet by Akshay on August 12. He was hired on August 1 to clean the school toilets on a contractual basis.

The 23-year-old accused was arrested on August 17, five days after the parents learned about the incident and filed an FIR.

Following the brutal rape-murder of a young doctor in a Calcutta hospital, the tragedy sparked widespread protests in the city of Thane. Police had to forcibly evict thousands of people who had blocked local railway tracks for hours.

Police officials try to disperse people blocking tracks in protest at Badlapur railway station in Thane district, Tuesday, August 20, 2024. PTI

The police investigation was sharply criticised by the Bombay High Court, which acted on its own initiative. The court specifically pointed out that the police had deviated from the rules in questioning the children.

“The Badlapur police is not following the legal guidelines. They have tried to record the statements of the victim at the police station. This is in complete disregard of the guidelines. Asking the victim and her parents to come to the police station to record their statements is totally insensitive and contrary to the law,” the court said.

The school also faced criticism; the court questioned its recruitment process and its decision to allow male counselors and cleaners access to the girls' toilets.

To further investigate the sexual assault case, the government set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the command of senior IPS officer Arti Singh.

The SIT is also investigating the school for allegedly violating the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. This Act requires all authorities to inform the police of any information they come to know about sexual offences against minors. There are two trustees at the institution who are shirking their duties.

The state administration ordered the installation of video surveillance systems in all schools within a month of the incident. According to the state government, schools will have their licenses revoked if they refuse to install video surveillance systems within the specified deadline.

This happened after it was revealed that recordings from the 15 days prior to the attack were missing and none of the surveillance cameras were working.

With contributions from agencies

You may also like...